Pathogens and global health
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Review
A current analysis of chemotherapy strategies for the treatment of human African trypanosomiasis.
Despite the recent advances in drug research, finding a safe, effective, and easy to use chemotherapy for human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) remains a challenging task. The four current anti-trypanosomiasis drugs have major disadvantages that limit more widespread use of these drugs in the endemic regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Pentamidine and suramin are limited by their effectiveness against the only first stage of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, respectively. ⋯ The drug is useful in the context of combination chemotherapy and potential orally administered analogues. Due to the limits of monotherapies, greater emphasis should be placed on the research and development of combination chemotherapies, based on the successful clinical tests with NECT and its current use as a frontline anti-trypanosomiasis treatment. This review discussed the current and future chemotherapy strategies for the treatment of HAT.